Basic poached chicken

Basic poached chicken

There are so many tasty ways to treat a perfectly poached chicken breast – salads, soups, sandwiches, or simply sliced and served with rice and chilli sauce.

Allowing the chicken to finish poaching in the residual heat from the hot broth will help to keep the fillets tender and juicy. And, whatever you do, don’t forget about that golden poaching liquid.

Store it in the freezer and you’ve got a ready-made broth for noodle soup at your fingertips.

Ingredients

Makes 4 chicken breasts ready in 25 minutes

6 cups chicken stock

5 cm piece ginger, sliced

2 spring onions, cut into 5 cm batons

2 tbsp light soy sauce

¼ cup Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)*

4 chicken breasts

METHOD

Place the stock, ginger, spring onions, soy sauce and Shaoxing in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil then add the chicken breasts. (They should be covered completely with the liquid; if not, add a little water.) Bring back to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid and gently simmer for five minutes.

Without lifting the lid, remove the pan from the heat and let the chicken rest in the poaching liquid for 12 minutes. Slice the chicken and serve warm, or use for any recipe that requires cooked chicken.

*Shaoxing is a Chinese wine made from fermented rice. Find it at your Asian grocer and some major supermarkets.